The Original Shadow Kingdom
by Arrastrago
Summary: What starts off as a normal day in Magic Kingdom for two cast members becomes something much more complicated. Rides break down without notice, stores are vandalized, and everyone is puzzled as to who the culprit is.
1. It was Only a Ride

Stitch. Experiment 626. He's cuddly. He's uncouth. He's cute and fluffy. He's destructive and indestructible. He's highly marketable. He's a genetically mutated trog from planet Tura with a penchant for mischief, chaos, and otherwise pandemonium...

... oh yeah - did I forget to mention she's a close friend of mine in a blue alien's body? ... I did?

Lets establish the facts: My name's Kyle. This story I'm gonna tell you is... hopefully fictional. Any resemblance to actual reality is PURELY coincidental.  
Me and my dear friend Katherine were pals in high school. Then came college. Both of us - armed with undying enthusiasm for Walt Disney and his legacy - ventured to steamy Florida from the other hot state, Arizona, to participate in the Walt Disney World College Program. Kat's role: PAC member at the Magic Kingdom. Mine? Custodial, at the Animal Kingdom.

When we finally caught up with each other we knew we were gonna spend time together. (Hey! We're just friends! Don't get any ideas!) Thus, we would go to the parks, ride rides, dine well, etc. for me, this provided opportunity to see what was new and cool.

Enter Stitch's Great Escape.

It must be noted here that he, Tigger, and Goofy are my favorite Disney characters. Kat, on the other hand, favored more villainous types: Mirage, Helga Sinclair, Vanessa, Shego, and Maleficent. Plus some vampire – nazi – psycho anime woman named Rip Van Winkle from a comic she wouldn't shut up about. And I mean that in a nice way of course.

Anyway, Stitch's Great Escape is a cleverly imagineered attraction. It removed the scary stuff from the Extra TERRORestrial Alien Encounter and replaced it with everyone's favorite little ball o' destruction. Sure, it had its flaws, but it was still fun. Having Stitch spit on you, muss up your hair, bounce on your shoulder restraints, and belch in your face is a rather pleasant way to kill twenty minutes.

At the shows end, Kat and I were laughing hysterically. When my laughter died down, it somewhat disturbed me to find Kat still at it. I mean, I love Stitch and all, but talk about overkill. I began to wonder when she was going to take a breath. Worse, what was coming out of her was a creepy maniacal cackle that I was unaccustomed to hearing… out of Kat anyway.

"Um, Kat? I-It's over. You can, um, stop laughing." I whimpered nervously.

"THAT WAS FRICKIN HYSTERICAL!!" she shrieked, "C'mon! We're gonna do it again!"

Was I surprised you ask? Wes and no. I knew she had a bit of a soft spot for the trog… but… still

Two hours went by and Kat was still at it, and showed no sign of quitting. Even when I said I'd go check out neighboring Space Mountain (with a 40 minute wait!) and did so, she was still boarding and reboarding. By the time the sun was setting, I felt it was necessary to step in. Kinda like a designated driver or something.

"Kat! No!" I struggled to hold her back, "Bad Kat! Down! Do-own! That's it! No more for today! You got work tomorrow!"

"NooOOooOO!" she growled back at me in an animalistic tone, "gimmie! Stitch want fun! No sleepy!"

"Yes you sleepy," I returned in a stiff tone, "Now, come on." Need less to say Kat put up quite a fuss. It made for a long walk back to the monorail, a long monorail ride to the TTC, and a long bus ride back to Chatham, where I ushered her to her room to sleep off her addiction.

End of the story? You'd like to think so wouldn't you?

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Heinkel: but of course, nothing can be that easy.

Mistress 9: Why are we here providing commentary for this story?

Bellatrix: Probably because Logos is a lazy bastard and won't type up the other stories….

Heinkel: …. Oh……

Mistress 9: ….. ANYWAY, continue Kyle

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Castosaurus Café, day two, about two p.m. I sat among the usual fellow cast members. A few custodians, ride operators, and some greeters. Among others, there were Brom Bones, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, the white rabbit, Pacha, Nala, Fish out of Water, and Mrs. Potts. (Many people think we work with people in character costumes. What a joke! No, we work with the real deals. Don't let those know-it-alls fool you) Among the usual chatter, I heard concerned mumbles among my colleagues.

"What's up guys?" I piqued.

Mike and Aisha turned to me. "You didn't hear? A couple of merchandise stores and Thunder Mountain closed. Someone trashed 'em."

"If you ask me," said Milo Thatch, "I'd say it was one of them villains."

"Don't flatter yourself," snapped a peeved Dr. Drakken, "I would have thought of something more diabolical.

"Like when I tried to steal the Key to the Kingdom?" Dr. Dementor teased.

"That was my own idea and you know it!" Drakken huffed.

This perplexed me. "Didn't the cameras catch anything?"

Aisha nodded. "Just one. They said it looked like Stitch"

"No way!" Everyone turned to see 6-year-old Lilo, "Stitch was home all last night with me. We both got grounded for our Anti-vampire trap in the bathroom. That's where they strike the most you know… I wish Nani could have seen the one we did catch before it got away…"

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Bellatrix: and as if by fate the vampire seemed to a 24 year old who swore to the high heavens in Flemish before Stitch and Lilo cut the wire that caught her pant leg

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"Maybe Phantasmo got out," I suggested, "Possessed a stitch doll or something."

Mike shook his head, "No. He's still doing repairs at the carrousel of progress."

Well I was puzzled. Yet, incredibly enough at this stage, I was unable to put two and two together. "I'll talk to Kat tonight," I resigned, "Ask her what's going on."

Once I got out at five, that left me with still a lot of time to visit the Magic Kingdom and pay a brief visit to Katherine. As I walked along Mainstreet I was sorta disappointed that I hadn't seen her. Curious, I roamed the park, especially inquisitive about the vandalized stores. Unfortunately, as a guest, I was given no opportunity to see what had happened. The local cast members had no useful information to dispense. It got frustrating real quick.

Tired, worn out, and still confused, I headed out.

Upon stepping foot onto Mainstreet again though, a blue paw cut me off, accompanied by a harsh "YAAAARRGHH!!

It sorta spooked me, a little.

"JEEZ-US!! YA TRYING TO GIVE ME A HEART FAILURE?!"

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Mistress 9: yeah… a little….

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Kat smirked, "Aloha," she snickered. Trying to regain a steady heartbeat, I took time to notice something different about her. Her ears, normally buried under her brown hair, seemed to surface, twice as long, kinda like elf ears, and although she wasn't exactly tall, she appeared even shorter then before. But most glaringly, two Stitch glove paws.

"Yay! So hyper!" she cheered, "Rarr! Abboh Tiggah! Too-bugee!"

I stood there, tongue firmly in my cheek. "I'm guessing you've gotten sort of attached to Stitch eh?"

"Not only that," she giggled, "But I've been working on my Stitch impression too! Listen: "she cleared her throat, and belted out a spot-on impression of the alien's phlegm cackle.

I, the usual voice impressionist, my top ones including Goofy, Stitch, Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, and Tigger, stared at her – hair on the back of my neck on end, goose bumps on my arms. "Oo-kay," I digressed coolly, "What happened to Rip? Or Maleficent? D'ja give up on them?"

"Yeah," Kat answered without a hint of remorse, "they're all so slow and reserved. They got absolutely no energy. Yay! We love you Stitch!"

I was indifferently mellow, "Kat, you're really starting to scare me."

"Meega too cute and fluffy!" she purred, rubbing against me. I won't lie, it was awkward. VERY.

"Aren't you supposed to me, oh, I dunno, setting up poles for the parade?" I asked.

Instead of answering Kat lazily smacked her lips. "Hey, Kyle? Got any gum? I just suddenly really got a case of the munchies."

"Sure," I agreed. Retrieving my pack in my pocket. I hadn't completed this task when I noticed she ripped the pole in two with her teeth alone. Blanking out for a proper response all I could say was. "Damn, you must be seeing a good dentist."

"Mmffanks," she replied. Or something like that. It was hard to tell, considering she had a large chunk of plaster in her mouth, "mmgood."

Okay okay. So I was seriously unnerved. "Yeah" was all I could say. "Well, um, good luck with that." And I left. I know, I KNOW, I should have done something, but I'm not exactly a doctor.

Well thanks to my heroic inaction, the vandalism reports at the Magic Kingdom got worse. The train tack got torn up. Toys had the stuffing chewed out of them. Astro Orbiter lost a ship. Madame Leota disappeared and reappeared three days later in the water of the final scene of Splash Mountain. As a result, Stitch and his legal team began holding regular press conferences to deny his involvement. As an extra precaution, Pooh and friends beefed up their security. No one knew what to do; even Basil of Baker Street came up empty-handed.

And Kat? Her behavior was becoming more outlandish and more irascible. Her Stitch impressions were becoming more than that. They were more then just slips of the tongue too. She was actually greeting guests in that voice (the excuse was that she had a sore throat.) and speaking in sentence fragments. Her passion for Experiment 626 crossed the line into psychotic obsession. She now owned every Stitch pin she could get her greedy little paws one. There was no stopping her….. but what was the connection?

Finally, I had decided it was long past time to confront her. It was about time to bring her back down to Earth. Besides, the Kat I knew would NEVER give up Rip Van Winkle or Maleficent. Something was wrong here, and it was time Dr. Kyle "DiZ" Blanchette, M.D, Head Shrink, made a house call (cue dramatic music)

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Heinkel: plays Hellsing opening theme

Mistress 9: Not very foreboding…..

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Katherine's less than enthusiastic roomies answered the door. They led me to Kat's room, and left me in my moment of dumb shock. Not only was the room trashed, but every Stitch item for sale anywhere in WDW was in there. Hats, shirts, toys, books, stickers, DVDs, CDs, pins, lanyards, pictures, and drawings filled the room, ceiling to floor. The patient was curled up on the floor, gnawing on a pink clock with a smiley face. Her ears and eyes were seemingly larger then they should be on any human. Her hands seemed less defined with long blue finger nails, and because she was a girl, I was quite aware of the amount of fine bluish hair that covered her. In short, it was not a pretty picture.

"Is this Stictch-ohlics anonymous?" I inquired sarcastically.

"Unh?" she growled as she continued to chew on the clock, "Ooo! Hah… hiiieee…"

"Kat, I'm seriously hoping you are aware of just how unhealthy this is. Time for a little intervention." I noticed she wasn't paying attention. Her sensitive nose began snooping around corners of the room for exotic smells. Disturbed, all I could comment was "There's no telling what you're gonna find in a college kid's room…" sure enough, she made a horrid face of disgust and sneered in an alien tongue.

Frustrated. I grabbed her arm and set her on the bed. "Kat, I want to help you. Something wrong with you!"

"Naga!" she huffed.

Now I'm an amateur hypnotist. I found a rapid induction technique that not only worked well on Katherine but those with poor concentration skills.

"Sleep!" I commanded as I pushed the back of her head. As expected, her eyes shut and she slumped forward into a state of relaxation. "Just relax all over." I guided carefully, " Listen to me very closely. When I wake you, you will be your old self, you are not Stitch, you are Katherine. Three, two, one."

Kat awoke, eyes blinking rapidly. She looked around, then felt her head as though she had a minor headache. "you okay Kat?" I asked.

She looked at me strangely, "Stitch hungry." She cooed

Well, so much for that.

But suddenly she developed a nervous twitch. "umm… Kat?" was all I could mumble. Soon, it continued to spread across her whole body. It turned into a total convulsion. What did I do? I PANICKED of course! What did you think I would do?

As I threw myself against the wall in terror, her condition worsened. Like a horrible werewolf B movie, her body was going a wretched transformation. Her eyes darkened, swelling in size. Her skin was slowly disappearing in a pelt of blue fur. She shrunk down and was lost into the folds of her jacket and other clothing. And then there was silence.

Two minutes later and life returned. And a carbon copy of our beloved 626 emerged from out of the clothing. She (it?) looked at me with mild perplexity.

Frozen, all I could mumble was, "Jumba and I are gonna have a little sit down tomorrow.

Her attention was diverted to her bureau. There she proceeded to throw about everything she could get her claws on. "Augh!" I yelped, "No! bad Stitch! Er.. Kat! Bad! No no!!" Obviously she didn't care much for the new rules. With an angry snort she hopped onto my head and began to taste test the papers she had grabbed. "Hey! No!" I cried, ripping a sheet out of her mouth, and then I saw the drawing that was upon it. "WHOA! Is Stitch allowed to commit that kind of violence on Maleficent Kat?"

That was when I noticed the window was open. More ever, Kat was nowhere to be seen. I ran to the window, and saw the alien run away like a hunting dog. "I'm comin' Kat!" I yelled, racing outside… forgetting that I was barefoot. "Ow!! OUCH!! COLD!! ACK!! That's okay then! I'll be uh,erm, I'll find you tomorrow! Just! Just Don't do anything stupid! Or crazy! Cuz… cuz…. Then I'm really gonna…. Come down on you like a ton of bricks!"

Aw man.. who the hell was I kidding?


	2. Investigation

I had to work the next day anyway. And you know, for a guy whose job is to sweep up popcorn and puke, I found I had no energy or focus. I was emotionally and physically drained. A Stitch duplicate was at large somewhere, causing mayhem and chaos, and the real McCoy was getting the rap. Plus, that evil fur ball was my best friend. My own "Ohana", Oh jeez, the irony!

Well, during my trash run, I had a visitor. It was none other than Mickey Mouse himself, and he was approaching me. The thrill was indescribable (so instead ladies, Imagine Johnny Depp walking up to you, that about sums it up, or for a certain vampire, Jason Issacs.) My inner child went bonkers. My first thought, naturally, was "Oh Hell. What did I do?"

"Kyle right?" Mickey asked in a serious tone.

Anxiously scrubbing the trashcan, I babbled loudly, "Yeah, um, what broke I'll fix, whatever burned, I'll put it out, whatever exploded, put it on my tab, and I SWEAR it had nothing to do with the noodles."

"N-noodles?"

"NO! No noodles, I'm good!" I wheezed, "Fine, Perfect. Hundred Percent, Working hard and keepin' clean!"

"Um, Kyle?"

"What?! No! Please I'm sorry! I swear I'm innocent! I didn't do it!"

"Kyle…. You're wiping the paint off of the can…."

I paused long enough to see that he was indeed right. Wow, that was humbling….

You might as well put those rags away, kid. You're coming with me for now."

My heart was so terrified it was forgetting to pound. This time I was sure I'd get canned, and by Mickey himself too! "Y-yes sir?"

"I need your help to find the vandal. I was told you know who it is. And we gotta hurry or Disney World is gonna become one big junkyard!

Mind racing, I rambled "B-but what about my shift? I don't get off until-"

"Don't worry, I've already handled it. Now, come on, there's no time to loose!"

Mickey was now leading me away from the trashcan, yet still one important question was on my mind.

"Where are we going Mickey?"

"To the most current scene of the crime."

And that would be the Mombasa Marketplace in Africa. Why is it that Stitch always goes fro the breakable stuff? Mickey and I slipped inside, and were shocked by the disastrous ado. All the stuff that could break, was. Shirts and other articles of clothing were shredded something awful. Nothing could be salvaged.

Mickey studied the claw marks on the wall. "Gosh, doesn't look like it could have been done by any of our villains."

"Could it have been Stitch?" I asked, somewhat leadingly.

"Hmm… guess so. But we've put him under surveillance since the attacks started.

"Say, Mick. Kinda confused here. Why did you bring me along? You said I might know about all this. How?"

"Here," Mickey said, pulling out a paper note, "This was found at the Briar Patch gift shop when it got trashed."

I opened it, naturally. In horrible hand writing, as though it took a massive amount of will to control, the note contained the words….

**Kyle, help. P.S. Find Robert Langdon"**

Very very nice Kat, how discreet of you….


	3. DINOSAUR

"Can you tell me anything" We gotta figure this out and fast!" Mickey asked.

"Mickey, we actually wanted to show you this as well." A cast member spoke up.  
All three of us crowded into the security booth, and were ushered to a security camera screen that they had singled out. Though the picture was fuzzy, you could clearly see a four-armed Stitch tearing up the place. After several moments of chaos, he spotted the camera and leapt at it. Just as his toothy jaws filled the screen, the cast member paused it.

"It cuts off here."

No kidding Sherlock, I could have told you that….

"Now what?" I asked.

"Not much…." He answered ruefully, "Not until we find Stitch here, anyway…"

This seemed like a good moment to mention Kat's hideous transformation the night before, but before I could, the security officer's radio went off..

"Randy! We found him! Report to DINOSAUR now!" the call had bad reception and more the most part was scratchy; as if they were deep inside a cavern.

"We're on our way!" Mickey reported while he pushed me out the door, "Lets go Kyle. I don't wanna know what could go wrong this time!"

"Nor do I-ulp!" Was what I managed to respond with as I was hauled through the crowds.

I desperately tried to keep up with those ever-perspective-defying ears, but it was by no means an easy task. I'm a fast runner, but speed without grace is a bull in the china shop, if you know what I mean. What you call clumsiness, I call 'em acrobatics. You call it poor coordination; I call it running with style. So I spilled five ice creams, upset three empty strollers, tipped over two (very slow) little old ladies, knocked over a pin-trading kiosk, and a very full banana boat of trash, but who's counting?

At last, we made it. Sure, I was beat, exhausted, in pain, and in need of medical attention…. But I made it….  
And there he… she… it was. Clinging onto the Aladar statue out front like a rough-rider on San Juan Hill.

"Phase one is complete, what do we do now?" I whispered hoarsely.

"Let's go!" Mickey cleared his throat, "Stitch! Time to clean up your act and come down!"

Well obviously Stitch wasn't interested. Without missing a beat he bounded into the attraction with a gleeful cackle.

"Well THAT worked like a charm," I grumbled as I followed Mickey.  
Instead of going into the queue line, Mick led me into the gift shop and into the tower, where the cast could review the entire ride via monitor.

"Sorry! But this is an emergency! " Mickey apologized. We scrutinized the screens for anything. Then one of the screens went out with a loud CRUNCH.

"Found him…" I reported blandly.

"We have to shut the ride down before something happens!" Mickey demanded.

"Nope, sorry," the man beside us said, "We gotta keep it runnin' unless there's a serious emergency."

I couldn't believe this.

"HELLO?! Stitch? Loose on Scary Dino Ride? Besides! This is Mickey Mouse here!"

"Leader's orders."

I wanted to flip out so bad. As I thought of the worst thing I could do to this guy, Mickey intervened.

"Walking the track is out, we'll have to investigate the ride the normal way"

I shuddered, "Did I mention that I hate this ride? No matter how many times that I've been on it?"

And apparently, it didn't matter. We had to proceed to the loading dock. (Can you believe that we had to wait in line to board the damn jeep?) and then at last, we could go find Stitch.

Again, let me state this: THIS RIDE SCARES THE CRAP OUT OF ME

But at least I still had a Mickey Mouse to cuddle during the scary parts.

"Kyle? Wouldja mind letting go? I can't breathe…."

"…sorry…"

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As that boy Kyle and that rodent dispatched off into the ride, I watched from the pipe work at the opposite end of the loading dock. What were those two planning? I adjusted my glasses, the cold from the basement having fogged them up.

I would continue to follow those two no matter what happened. After all, perhaps after all was said and done, perhaps Kyle, no matter how dubious he was, would join me.

Katherine, on the other hand….

"ehehehehehe!!"

Hearing a cackle I peered over my shoulder and saw Stitch wave at me tauntingly at the exit of the ride. Apparently he had already scrambled through.

"What do you want?" I said dryly.

He snarled.

And I snarled back. Exposing each and every long serrated tooth I had.

The trog got the message. With a shudder he leapt back into the tunnel where the ride was; as if jeering me on to follow him.

I was smarter than that though. A hunter knows how to hunt,I would not fall for this bait.

Too bad Mickey and Kyle did….


	4. Things Begin to Heat Up

Yeah, bumpy jeep ride in the middle of the cretaceous jungle in the wee hours, with burning meteors falling out of the sky, and oh... what else? Oh year, that huge toothy dinosaur chasing right after ya! Mick and I soon pulled up to the renowned and infamous Carnataurus; a T-rex like beast with giant horns andblood red skin. As I trembled in terror, I managed to stammer, "L-look! It's h-him!" and sure enough, there was our blue mischief maker atop the evil lizard. But more still, there was someone behind the robot; shrouded in shadows. The figure raised a staff into the air, and the tip glowed; revealing it to be a large golden cobra head. As the eyes of the cobra head glowed brighter, the eyes of the dinosaur glowed in unison, and then it let out a demonic hiss that drowned out the normal audio roar. As the beast bellowed out into the darkness, the figure from behind it spoke out.

"Return to live, and come to me, as you were from the dawn of pre-history!"

The glow of the dinosaur's eyes became even brighter, and when it finally dimmed, the lizard leaned forward; its eyes on us. Then, the dinosaur lunged out and snapped at us! Fortunetly, the jeep revved its engines up in time and raced off.  
As we madly bolted away, I heard crashing and pounding of great feet. This was no audio-animatronic anymore. A living, breathing Carnataur was now in hot pursuit! That's when I heard from the row behind us.

"Wow! Disney's sure improved on this ride since the last time we were here Dad!"

"Hang on!" Mickey called as I saw him yank out a –steering wheel- (yes, believe this) and placed it on the car's dashboard. Mickey's show slammed the now existing gas pedal, and with snapping electricity and grinding of metal, the jeep took a detour.. out the side of the building. The Carnatuar followed close behind; tracking us like a blood thirsty.. well, I don't need to keep on elaborating on this do I?  
Still, Mickey led us on a white-knuckle, Mr. toad-esque chase, and I was about as calm as could possibly be given the situation

"HOLY COW WE'RE GONNA TO DIE!!"

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Bellatrix: Smooth Kyle…. Really smooth…

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But then I saw Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama up ahead.

"There!" I shouted, "Drive underneath! He'll hit his head on the signs!" So Mickey floored it, under the main overheads. But damn, all the luck, the lizard didn't even have to duck to miss it!  
I was humbled and humiliated, but Mickey revved the engine again, and accelerated up the tail of the orange fiberglass Apatosaurus, and onto it's back; well out of the Carnatuar's reach. By now, even the most dubious of guests in the jeep were convinced that this was not part of the ride.

"So.. where'd the wheel and gas pedal come from?" I panted to Mickey.

"Wheel? 20's stock gag. Gas Pedal? Plot hole." Oh, that made more sense, "But we're going to have to do something about that monster and fast!"

We turned to hear another roar. Atop the Expedition Everest in the distance, something was causing the inside of the mountain to rumble, before its starring performer, the legendary Yeti, erupted from the faux peak. It, too apparently, was no longer a big robot.  
Then it hit me.

"Come on Mick!" I urged, "He's not a gorilla, but it's close enough!" I jumped back into the keep, with Mickey right behind. Before we departed, I instructed our guests, who were now all out of the jeep.

"Professionals, do not try this at home." I wheeled us around and zoomed for Everest. As anticipated, the Carnataur turned his attention back to us and gave chase. It was enough to make even Mickey edgy.

"Please tell me you know what you're doing!" he whimpered

"Not a damn clue!" I hollered as we drove over the bridge into Asia. I squealed the jeep to a halt outside the Serka Zong Bazaar, where both monsters were sure to find us. Sure enough, as I hoped, the Yeti and the Carnataur came within about 20 feet of each other; both roaring loudly. Then they attacked!

…. Each other

"How'd you know they would do that?" Mickey questioned over the noise.

"I didn't!" I yelled back, "I've just seen the trailer for "King Kong" fifty billion times!"

"You never saw the movie?"

"IS THAT REALLY IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW?!"

Well watching the two battle one another was pretty intense. For a few moments, it looked as if the Dinosaur would come on top. But that all changed when the Yeti grabbed him by the tail and threw him over the bridge into the waters below. The beast thumped his chest and glared down at the now broken animatronic dinosaur. It then yelled down at the defeated lump of metal (and in a Brooklyn accent for some odd reason)

"No one, and I mean NO ONE, trespasses on MY MOUNTAIN!" and then he stomped back up into the roller coaster.

Mick and I were silent at first, but slowly, movement and sound returned. And considering I'm usually the bumbling fool, I was ecstatic that an actual plan of mine worked, so I broke out into a bon-diggity dance. "Woo-hoo! Uh huh! I rule! I'm the best!"

Then Mickey high fived me; life was complete,

"Not bad," Mickey eased his laughs and looked around "but where's Stitch?"

That I could not answer, but I at least got us somewhere, right?

Then the both of us heard a chuckle, "I guess there was a reason those bone heads went extinct, just like you two will…."

We turned back to the bridge; It was Jafar from Aladdin!

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From my perch in the trees, I kept my eyes on them. The Yeti had came to life just as planned; this was good, it showed we were capable of taking control of the animatronics as much as the "Shadowers" were. I heard my cell phone go off and immediately answered.

"Hunter here."

"This is Marluxia, how did the Expedition do?"

"Everest was a success."

"And Stitch?"

"I…" I paused, this was going to be embarrassing, "I haven't caught him yet sir."

"We need that Stitch if the plan is going to be a success.."

"You don't think I know that?" I hissed back, "the directi-"

"No! don't say that word!"

"You don't mean you're…" The man actually found it?

"I'm in the underground, if you utter that word." Marluxia paused, "The system will come alive, and we'll all be screwed. Listen… Just keep your cover, and follow Kyle and Mickey."

The cell phone clicked off, muttering to myself, I focused back on the odd couple. Wait… that was Jafar on the bridge with them! I leaned closer, almost precariously at the end of the branch I was sitting upon.

This was going to be an interesting fight; I knew that much.


	5. Battle on the Bridge

"Bad guys don't really learn do they? The whole 'Good triumphs over evil' thing?" I inquired.

Mickey turned to me, "If they turned good or gave up, they wouldn't be villains now would they?" Well, he had me there.

Jafar stormed forward; glowering coldly. That was when I familiar harsh squawk rand out, "HA HA! Boy! are you saps in trouble now!"I

"Oy," I groaned, "Iago too?" Mickey shrugged.

Just then, our adversary's features began to change. As though out of some sick metamorphosis, he grew taller, more elongated, and bigger. Just like in the movie, old Jafar was now a giant red and black cobra. At that moment, I thought of a slew of words I could say, but none I could repeat in front of Mickey Mouse. Still, even Mick seemed intimidated; but not scared. Almost like he'd handled this once before. And me? Oh! I just put on the offensive! Without a better plan, I began punching Jafar's scaly side. Neither the Mouse nor the Vizier could really believe this pathetic attempt at battle, but hey, there's so much a scrawny kid can do.

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Van the Tyrant: And oh, how little it is...

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Nonchalantly, the slinky reptile flicked me away like a piece of lint. I crashed into the Serka Zong gift store at about, 596 miles per hour and completely trashed the main display inside. As if it were purely for comic relief, several hard objects clocked me on the head. Too dizzy to see straight, I heard someone utter in a thick accented voice.

"Use this."

And the cherry on top being a black gravy boat landing squarely on my head. Despite that I was dizzy, sore, serious pain, and wondering who had the brilliant idea to drop a gravy boat on my head, I realized what the gravy boat actually was; Jafar's Lamp from "Return of Jafar!" This was going to be too easy. I hobbled out of the shop, lamp in hand.

"Hah!" I laughed triumphantly holding up the lamp, "we got you now Jafar!" That was when I noticed Mickey was caught and turning blue in Jafar's tight coils. But upon seeing the miniature ebony prison in my hands, Jafar seemed to temporarily panic, but this was a villain who almost never lost his cool.

Quite expectantly, the lamp began to glow a vibrant red, "What-!?" Jafar gasped, "N-no! you can't! NO!!" and suddenly, like a rope around a pole, he uncoiled around Mickey, head first, and right back into the lamp with a loud SCHLOOMP!

"Pheonmical Cosmic Power..." I snickered.

"Itty bitty living space," Mickey finished, laughing. I rushed over to help the mouse up; realizing that we had won. I then turned my attention back on the lamp.

"All right Mr. Big-shot vizier-wizard-dude," I demanded into the spout, "Talk! We know you had to do something with this! Now where is Stitch?"

"So turn a dinosaur real," the voice inside snapped, "So Sue me! I'm a villain! And what makes you think the blue hairball is working with me anyway?"

Flattly, I replied, "He led us to you so we could be dino chow."

Jafar snickered, "I'm flattered that you earnestly believe I possess the strength and resources to control that blue monstrosity, but in fact, no, we did not."

My spine chilled "'We'?"

"Er... Iago and I."

That was when the loud mouth bird perches on my shoulder, "Hey, Carl is it? Listen buddy! Maybe we can work something out here. you listenin' Mouse man? We'll discuss this over coffee eh?" Without a word, I tipped the lamp toward the parrot and sucked him in too.

"Oh PERFECT," Jafar groaned, "I'm stuck here with you again!"

"Aw, Shaddup!"

"So there's more of them," Mickey pondered out loud. "Better track'em down. They're probably all over Walt Disney World."

"But where do we start?" I asked, "This is a 47-square-mile hunk of swampland!"

"Epcot," Mickey answered, "It's the second biggest park. Someone has got to be up to no good there. Lets go!"

"Right! Right behind you!" I cheered, lamp at my side, "Do you have a cool jet or something?"

"To get to Epcot? Not with gas at four bucks a gallon! We're taking the bus!"

Dang, well it was asking for too much anyway...

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I watched the battle from afar, surprisingly, Kyle and Mickey came out on top... but why was that battle over before it begun? I heard my cell phone ring again and answered it; it was probably Marluxia.

"Hello "Hunter"... taking it easy in the trees I see?"

I bit my lip and snarled back into the phone. "Shut up! You know as well as I do that sunlight burns me! Or did you forget that "Rapier"?"

there was silence on the other end of the phone, then Rapier spoke again, "I know very well, and I also delivered the goods."

"Oh, the lamp?" I grinned, "Is that why they had it so easily?"

"Granted, it was by luck alone, the boy was dazed when I gave it to him, he doesn't know what I look like."

"Good, good, now get out of there "Rapier", go back to MGM studios."

"And where are you heading to "Hunter"?" the voice became slick and distrustful.

"To Epcot, I'm going to keep a close eye on these two... oh" the thought almost escaped me, "Any sign of Stitch?"

"I know where he is." Rapier soundedconfident

"This isn't another one of your jedi mind tricks is it?" I mumbled.

"Shut up!" Rapier bellowed back at me, "Stitch has already fled to Epcot as well, from what I can tell, he's inside Space Ship Earth! and..." there was silence.

"Rapier?" I asked, silence, "Rapier!?" I hollered into the phone.

"My God... he's destroying the sky!"


	6. Something Overlooked

On the bus to Epcot, I knew I had to break the news to Mickey about Katherine. He seemed shocked, but was not overly surprised. "That explains everything about Stitch," he mumbled, "And with Jafar involved, it's starting to make sense… but why turn her into Stitch if they could just kidnap the real one?"  
As the bus squealed to a halt at the bus station, Mickey and I made a break for it. Of course, Epcot is huge, and we didn't know where to start. We split up to check out Soarin', Mission Space, Test Track, and another hour or so at World Show Case. But we turned up nothing. We decided to meet up outside Innoventions East; completely out of breath.

"I got nothing," I panted, "You?"

"No," Mickey answered, "Lets check out Spaceship Earth."

Oh, that worked, the most ridden attraction in all of Walt Disney World, "The big golf ball." I realized.

"Geodesic sphere," Mickey corrected me as we heading inside. Close enough.

The show putted along at a measly .07352 miles an hour through the history of communications. Mickey seemed rather indifferent to the hidden him I pointed out on the sleeping Monk's scroll. But as the ride climaxed into the starry night sky, something more significant caught my eye.  
Very similar to the note left for me from Mickey, a messy scrawl had been torn into the sky of the ride. As Mickey strained to look, I thought I saw something almost human-like leap off the moon and down into the darkness.

"Well, it looks like… "Water" to me."

"Water?" I griped, "That doesn't make much sense!"

"That's it!" Mickey laughed and snapped his finger, "We haven't checked out the Living Seas with Nemo and Friends!"

"Forgot, or conveniently overlooked?" I grumbled flatly. Personally, I missed the Living Seas Pavillion that had preceded Nemo. Favored or not, as soon as the ride was over, Mickey and I dashed over to The Seas with Nemo. For awhile, we stared and stood dumbly; extremely anxious.

Mickey appeared dubious, "Whoever's in there, we gotta know that they most likely know that we're coming. We've got nothing at the moment when it comes to firepower."

"Ah ha!" I chastised, "But what about the power of Imagination? I think we both have that!"

Mickey brightened, "Hey! That's it! You're a genius!"

"I am?"

Did someone say "Imagination"?!" Squealed a chirpy voice. Suddenly, before our eyes appeared a small tiny dragon. He had two tiny wings, eyes big and yellow. Horns of a steer; but a lovable fellow. From head to tail, in a royal purple pigment. And there –viola-! We had Figment! "Sounds like we gotta turn you your thinkers into lean, mean, creative machines!"

"Hot dog!" Mickey laughed, "Lets go!" Mickey and Figment led me into Sea Base Alpha, the attractions exit. The three of us looked about, but failed to find anything fishy.. erm, suspicious. When it seemed there was nothing left to check within Sea Base Alpha, Mickey sighed, "well, looks like we're going to check the actual Aquarium itself."

"But we don't have any diving suits!" I protested.

"You don't need any!" Figment giggled, "Just use your imaginations!"

I turned to Mickey, "It's a stretch, but we might as well." Thus, I closed my eyes and concentrated as hard as I could. But after net minutes of pure concentration, I still felt no different. "Aw, come on! Did it work?" then I finally opened my eyes. I noticed that were were underwater, and all three of us were in snazzy 80's style diving suits.

"Actually," Mickey said, "We've been waiting for the past nine minutes for you to open your eyes."

"Really? My imagination's that good?" I asked; eagerly happy. But instead of answering, they were looking behind me with blank and somewhat nervous faces. A shadow loomed over the three of us; feeling a pit in my stomach, I turned and looked up to see a shark looming at me, grinning from (ear?) to (ear?)

"Hello." He greeted in a thick Australian accent.

"Bu-bu-buhh-bad! Buh-Big! Sh-sh-sha-shark! T-t-t-teeth!" I whimpered in terror.

"Bruce!" Mickey accused, "You're behind all this?!"

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"Destroying the sky eh?" I walked beneath the trees in world showcase, "seems Katherine has some control over Stitch, she was able to clue them into where the next villain was hiding?"

"This is not good," Rapier said over the phone, "It shows she has the power to fight against the character that is channeled within her."

"I don't see how this is a problem," I stopped short of the German Pavilion and rested in the underbrush, "Stitch barely has the brain capacity to rival... him." even thinking of mentioning his name made me worried.

"Don't worry, mentioning his name won't cause any problems," Rapier said; I could tell by the sounds in the background Rapier was walking through one of the Innovation branches, "Only that one word is what we can't mention."

"I don't feel like jinxing the mission Rapier," I snapped back, "And what are you doing still here in Epcot? Aren'tyou supposed to be in MGM right now?"

There was silence over the phone for a few moments, I heard what sounded like a countdown, and a huge rush of stomping feet. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm going on Soarin', I'm planning on seeing how this ride operates for future plans."

"You numb skull!" I lost my cool; several park guests stopped to look at me despite myself, "You don't have any eyes!"

"I do too have eyes," Rapier said matter of factly.

"Then why the heck do you wear a blind fold?" I began to walk once more; if I was distracting guests, I would bring the attention of the Disney characters as well.

"Because I can... looks like the ride's starting to load, I'll catch you at MGM later, keep Marluxia updated alright?"

"Wait-" but the phone cut out, "Dangit..." I stuffed it into my pocket and wandered into the German Pavilion. Looking around, I found the niche I used to go behind the parks. There was something I needed to obtain as soon as possible. I knew for a fact that the Disney villains weren't going to give victory to Kyle and Mickey as easily as they did in Animal Kingdom. I was to "help" them if things got out of hand. Rummaging through the garbage bins, I found where I had left it; a toned civil war musket. I pulled it out of it's hiding place and began to walk up to the second level of the German Pavillion.

Those Shadowers were going to be in for a surprise...


	7. Battle in the Depths

"Behind what, mate?" the shark lazily remarked, "I was wonderin' when you blokes were gonna show. Don't blame me 'cuz I'm a great white shark, buckaroo. I'm not bad... I'm just pixelated that way."

"Imagine that!" Hee hee hee!" Figment snickered once again.

"Never mind that! Have you seen Stitch lately, Bruce?" Mickey demanded.

"Bu-bu-buhh-bad! Buh-Big! Sh-sh-sha-shark! T-t-t-teeth!"

"Stitch? You don't mean the little bloke who can't swim! He was here 'bout fifteen minutes ago with Missus Ursula." Bruce responded.

"Ursula?!"

"Ursula!?"

"Bu-bu-buhh-bad! Buh-Big! Sh-sh-sha-shark! T-t-t-teeth!"

Bruce turned to Mickey, "What's with him, mate?"

"Oh nothing, he's just a little starstruck that's all," The mouse shrugged.

Bruce shook his heavy head, "Turned the 'ole place upside down she did. The fishes haven't been able to swim freely lately. Carefully, mates; she's got connections."

"Nothing we can't handle!" Mickey said with his usual stick-to-it-ivity, "Come on guys! We got villainy to defeat!"

"Bu-bu-buhh-bad! Buh-Big! Sh-sh-sha-shark! T-t-t-teeth!"

Bruce pushed me along. "All right, all right. Move along people. The joke's dead mate."

Critic...

Bruce escorted us forward, past all sorts of creepy trench dwelling creatures. His massive build and fearsome looks kept the monsters at bay; soon we were in the deepest, darkest part of the aquarium.. the exact place where we would find the devious diva. As we neared the depths and the inky darkness, I became edgier and more anxious, Mickey appeared that way too, but he was much better at hiding it.

"This is as far as I go mate," Bruce said at last, "You're on your own from here on out."

"Thanks Bruce," Mickey thanked casually; almost as if Bruce led us to a fine dining party or something. It was just too nonchalant for me. But as we gaped down into the chasm, I felt my stomach churn. But it appeared that Figment had the opposite problem.

"WHEEEEEEEEE!!" he cried as he dove down into the abyss like a depth charger. Despite this cause of action, the mouse and I stayed put; anticipating the worst. Sure enough, the sea floor rumbled, and the gigantic octopus-like monstrosity arose from the darkness below. It was Ursula alright. Bigger and badder then ever before, she laughed as only a villain could.

"DO YOU DARE INTERFERE?!" she boomed mightily, "I'LL CRUSH YOU LIKE PLANKTON!"

The normally giddy Figment, tumbling at our side now, wimphered, "I never imagined it'd end like this!" then he caught himself suddenly, bursting into tears, "My career is over!"

Well, despite the situation, I had a growing amount of confidence since the battle in Animal Kingdom. I felt much more ready now that the battle was underway. Without missing a beat, I whipped out Jafar's lamp, aiming it like a pistol in a newbie cop pose. I felt strong, but I was still scared as hell.

But Ursula just laughed again in her roaring boom, "WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO WITH A GRAVY BOAT DARLING?!" Good thing the lamp's power kicked in right there, because I didn't have a ready comeback in mind. Just like Jafar, Ursula was completely helpless as she was sucked right into the lamp. As the last tentacle slipped inside, the three of us stared blankly at one another. "Well that was easy," I said to Mickey.

"Too easy." He agreed.

Then we heard Ursula cackle from within the lamp, "You've fallen right into my trap you fools!"

"Aww... MAN!" I groaned, "And we didn't see it coming?"

"Yikes!" Figment pointed back at the chasm, "What's that?!"

A slimy green something curled onto the lip of the abyss, it unfurled and rose into the space above us; it was a giant tentacle. It greedily swished around before slamming against the sea floor. The three of us dodged; but it continued to feel around. Gradually, a massive shape rose from the black depths, it was at least twice as big as Ursula had been, and probably twice as many tentacles.

Mickey trembled, "It's th-the K-K-Kraken!"

"But I thought the Kraken was just a myth!" I protested.

"I'm sure he doesn't know that!" Figment responded.

Myth or not, this monster was still able to grab all three of us in its tentacles. Try as we might, we squirmed to get free, but this Octo-freak wasn't letting go any time soon. We broke the surface and found ourselves above the water, being ready to be dropped into it's toothy maw.

And in the next three minutes, the most random sequence of events occured.

The limbs that held Figment, Mickey, and I went loose and limp. We were free again. But how? It was the work of none other than the famous Captain Jack Sparrow, who had sliced the Kraken's tentacles off with his sword!

"Thanks Jack!" I laughed; overly relieved.

"Better get out of here, men," the pirate commanded, "This place is about to go up like a barrel of rum in a bonfire!"

"What do you mean?" I asked. Mickey and Figment tugged at my sleeves anxiously. Something broke the surface to match the Kraken; it too was green, but was metallic- of all the randomness in the world! It was the Nautilus! Captain Nemo's submarine!

"Quick Kyle!" Mickey cried as we scrambled away from the tank, "imagine something! We need an escape vehicle! HURRY!"

It was hard, but considering the confusion all around; I did the best I could.

"SEGWAYS?!" Mickey was dumbfounded, "Couldn't you imagine something faster than segways?!"

"Hurry!" The pirate called down to us, "We can't hold out much longer!"

With little alternative, Mickey and I boarded our segways and swiftly rode out of Sea base Alpha and out into Future World. We heard the Nautilus fire off it's torpedoes and as expected, the Seas Pavilion burst into a fiery ball of flames and smoke, licking at our heels. We were moving fairly quickly, but apparently barely enough so.

Then the three of us heard 'SPLOTS' rain all around us. Big wet chunks of what was once the Kraken littered the ground. "Come and get it!" we heard Sparrow cry. And like a scene out of Hitchcock's "The Birds" an enormous flock of seagulls, all continuallychanting "Mine!" swooped down to catch up was left ofthe Kraken. It certain was a macabre sight; a burning aquarium and a hundred plus seagulls eating fresh calamari. But it didn't take long for my imagination to kick in a little late; and some super sized rockets latched onto my segway. without hesitation; the rockets fired off, and I vaulted over World Showcase Lagoon like a hyper exaggerated Wile E. Coyote (can I say that, this being a Disney fic?)I crash landed in the German pavilion, and found myself in a rather awkward situation.

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The explosion from the aquarium caught me off guard. I jumped from the second story balcony and brandished my gun. Shouting curses in my native tounge; not caring about the burns I was getting from the sun, I strode to the edge of the pavillion where the fence kept me out of the lagoon. Peering across the body of water, I could see three figures put along out of the burning wreckage. It was Kyle, Mickey, and some purple dragon, I chuckled, it seemed wherever these guys were going, destruction wasn't too far behind. Then I heard another, smaller, explosion, and the thing that Kyle was on catapulted him over the lagoon and ...

Right onto me.

I looked at him stupidly for a moment, not sure what to do. When I head Rapier from behind somewhere.

"DON'T GAWK AT HIM!" I couldn't see Rapier, but I knew they were right.

Stepping back into reality I grinned devilishly and threw him off of me, I aimed my gun at him and leered.

"Better run..."

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Whoever this guy was,they weren't happy to see me I guess. After gawking at me for a moment, they pulled out a gun that must've been at least nine feet long and fired off several rounds as I scampered away like a scarred rabbit. What I day this was turning out to be. What a day!

Now, more than twice in one day, I was beat and hurting. But at least I made new track speed records from Germany to China (remember, the Pavillions, not the real countries!), where I stopped to catch my breath. Under the China Northern Gate, I rested; panting heavily, when I heard it. Stitch's unmistakable snicker. I looked up, and found Kat, perched atop the gateway grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"Ka-Kat?" I wheezed, "Time to come home. time to... cease and desist yout malevolent delinquency!"

"Arrr," she growled, "Those be long words in there. We be naught but humble pirates."

Oy, now she's quoting. Well, time for the ace up my sleeve.

"Hannah Montana's writing and singing the soundtrack to Sleeping Beauty 2!"

I expected Kat to curl into a fetal position and fall off the gate in paralisis or something. But instead, she shuddered amd bounded away. Naturally, I gave chase, kinda like a 2 year old after a cat.

"Ludwig's getting a platinum release of 'Puppy Love!' Micheal Eisner bought the rights to 'Hellsing!' They're shutting down Illuminations! Shego's retiring from Kim Possible!"

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Mistress 9: Note this, all the statements Kyle is making are completely false, like someone else I know

GLaDOS: ... Shut up

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Well, as you can imagine, with all this chasing and ranting, I failed to look exactly where I was going. By the time I reached the Aztec Pyramid in pursuit of Kat, I unexpectedly ran smack into Mickey and Jack with full force.

"Ack! You okay?" Mickey was more worried then annoyed.

"Considering what I've ben through today alone," I grumbled, "Nothing a few weeks at a local hospital couldn't cure." then it hit me, "Hey, where's Figment?"

"That odd lizard?" Jack answered, "Went back to his pavilion as soon as things cleared up. But at least all of us are better off than if tall, dark, and hideous had finished his intentions back in the over sized fish tank back there."

"Yeah, thanks, Jack," I replied, rubbing my temple, "What are you doing here in Epcot anyway?"

"Commandeering!" The rogue answered,"Commandeering a ship... or two... or three... Only what is necessary."

"Well," I sighed,"Maybe we ought to bring you back home to the Magic Kingdom?"

Jack looked surprised, "But that ride-boat-attraction-thing... it smells funny."

Mickey shook his head with a smile, "You can't run a show when the star isn't even there!"

"Sure you can. People'd just be more confused." Jack replied smugly.

"Come on Cap'n," I said at least, "We can take the monorail." That said, we made our way out of the park.


	8. Hunter Does a Favor

The ride back to the TTC was quiet and slow. I still laugh thinking about the looks we got on our way to the Magic Kingdom. Like people have never seen a pirate, an anthropomorphic Mouse, and a scrawny kid riding on the monorail before.

Upon our arrival in Adventureland, the pirate had one last request, "Say, lads. You don't think it's possible for a parched buccaneer, such as myself, could score a bit of rum around here?"

"A bit being what- three bottles?" I mused.

"Sorry," Mickey apologized, "There's no alcohol served anywhere in the Magic Kingdom."

Jack was dumbfounded and shocked. Staring off, I heard him mumbled, "Why the bloody Hell am I working here, there?"

"Cap'n! Cap'n!" came a cry as a scruffy looking pirate raced out to us, "'Ave you got the rum you promised? The rum you said you went out to get?"

"Rum?" I laughed, "I thought you were out commandeering."

Jack looked at us, then his colleague. He leaned to me and whispered in his own style, those famous words: "Exactly, never trust a pirate." And he dashed back into the attraction at startling speed.

"Well, that takes care of that," Mickey sighed, "Now we gotta look-"

"Mickey!" came a southern-accented cry. Down the cobblestone came a small brown hare in a pink shirt. "Howdy Mickey! How do you do?"

My 20-year old heart welled with unbridled glee. Brer Rabbit, his cohorts, and I went way back. "Brer Rabbit! Good to see you buddy!"

"Well, well! Howdy, Kyle!" the bunny greeted with all Southern Hospitality.

"Not now, Brer Rabbit," Mickey said concerned, "We got an evil plot on our hands."

"I know! That's what I came t'tell ya 'bout! It's Brer Fox, Mickey!"

And with that, he scampered away to the bridges by tom Sawyer Island. Mickey and I followed, and were stunned to find Brer Fox arguing with.. himself?! Brer Bear stood by us, watching the chaos unfolding. Poor guy, it was easy to see it was hurting his brain.

"I tellin' ya, dat trap ain't gonna catch dat Brer Rabbit!" One snapped.

"T'aint none o' your business! I'm gonna catch him sure!" The other shot back.

"You ain't gonna catch no Brer Rabbit! Yer just an impostor!"

"I ain't no impostor! You're the fake one!"

"No, you are!"

"No, you!"

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GLaDOS: NO U

Bellatrix: WHAT YOU SAY?

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"You see, Brer Mouse?" Brer Rabbit asked, "Somethin' ain't right here."

Not sure what the right response would be, Mickey swallowed. "I ... see..."

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks... just a lot less painful. "Um, Brer Rabbit? Has anyone missed work in Frontierland? Any cast members haven't shown up in awhile?"

Brer Rabbit nodded, "Yeah! Jake ain't nowhere to be found for a week. Sorta like he disappeared."

Mickey turned to me, "You think... that the villains are turning cast members into Disney Characters?"

"That's what it looks like Mick," I answered with a shrug, "Not the most diabolical plan I've ever heard, but I think this is the case."

"But if one's a phony, and the other's the real McCoy, how do we tell 'em apart?"

I have to admit, he stumped me there. I mean, looking at them, you swear you were simply seeing double; they were exactly alike in both personality and appearance. If only I knew what it was to separate the real deal from the doppelganger.

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Sore from chasing Kyle and Mickey across Epcot, I gritted my teeth as I trudged through Adventureland. The burns I had gotten in my foolish attempt at "heroism" were coming back to haunt me, every time I turned to look somewhere, I felt my skin prickle with heat and pain.

"Curses..." I sat down in the area leading up to the tree house that Disney could never decide on a theme for. I shouldered my gun and thought for awhile; about the mission, about the Shadowers, and where this crazy journey would take Rapier and I next. My thoughts fell onto Rapier; poor kid, their movie was okay, was was under constant criticism by dire fans. With no future in movie business, Rapier had decided to reside in MGM Studios, it was only through the Organization XIII that they were working alongside me. And quite frankly, I knew why now. Rapier's silly beliefs in their pseudo powers were so sad it was actually laughable. Musing over my comrade, I didn't noticed the small child who was standing in front of me. My attention turned to him.

"What do you want?" I said casually.

"Can I have your Autograph?" the little boy asked; almost shoving a pen and little book scribbled with the names of Disney characters upon it into my face. Deciding to humor the kid, I took them gently from his hands and wrote my name in a clear page. I then gave it back to him just as gently.

"There you go kid," I shifted myself better to let my gun rest on my shoulder, "You run back to your parent's now, kay?"

"I will! Thanks!" the little squirt ran off. I didn't know exactly why I had done what I had did. If I'd still been working at my last job I would've told him to buzz off. Disney was getting to me alright. Then I heard my cellphone go off again.

"Rapier?" I mumbled as I hit send.

"Rapier's not with you?!" It was Marluxia.

"Er... no... last I checked they were heading back to MGM."

"Well I'm sorry to break your little bubble, but Rapier's not here, they're-"

"Don't tell me... They're in Magic Kingdom..."

"Yeah, Rapier said their powers pointed them into the right direction this time, said they were going to get the jump on the Shadower there."

"But they don't even know what they're getting-" I was cut off as an explosion rang out in the distance, "Oh for the love of Walt... Marluxia... I'll call you back." I stuffed the phone back into my pocket, hoisted my gun up, and ran like a bat out of hell to where the explosion had happened. As I ran away, I heard someone from behind.

"So James, did you get an autograph from the Disney character?"

"Yeah!"

"What was their name?"

"Er... Rip.. Van.. Wi- Rip Van Winkle!"

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Without warning, we all heard a loud explosion, not unlike a shuttle taking off. We turned to look across the water at the Gothic structure known as The Haunted Mansion. A green column of smoke was rising out of the building; it didn't look promising.

Panicked, I babbled, "Uh, sorry guys! We-we gotta go! We'll figure this out later! See you soon!"

Despite the onslaught of panicked guests from the other direction, Mickey and I fought our way through the pandemonium all the way to Liberty Square. "Oh boy," I groaned, palms sweating in anticipation. Beyond that, Mickey and I were about to climb aboard yet another ride at Disney I couldn't stand. As we ran up the now vacant queue line, we found someone slumped at the entrance; their outfit was a uniform that was robin egg blue, and they wore black boots and gloves. Their jet black hair was tuzzled, and their eyes were covered by a blindfold of some sort; I could see a red line trickling down from underneath it.

"Hey! Are you okay?!" Mick and I knealed down to check on them. The person stirred and "looked" at me. They spoke in a familiar voice.

"I-I wasn't able to stop him... you guys... better take care of yourselves in there..." it was a thick accent... if only I could put my finger on it...

"Will you be alright on your own?" Mickey helped the enigmatic individual up. I saw in their other hand they were holding a rapier of of some sort. They staggered a bit, but they nodded to the both of us.

"You two... the enemy is waiting for you... best be prepared..." and with that, the blue clad enigma limped off; leaving us at the entrance to the Haunted Mansion...


	9. Battle within the Darkness

Yes, YES. I admit it; The Haunted Mansion scares me. So sue me! I'm sorry if the legendary "light hearted Disney touch" is kicked off by a dead guy in a noose, dangling from the rafters! Why couldn't the bad guys take over Small World or Mickey's Phillarmagic? And still, like the last time, it made absolutely no difference. We had to continue our investigation of this twisted plot. "Cause when those crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake, the spooks come out for a swinging wake. Once the "Happy Haunts" materialized, I began to vocalize; "Mickey! Let's get the hell out of here!"

But there we were, in the notorious stretching room. "Welcome Foolish Mortals!" The Ghost Host boomed, "As you can see, there are no windows, and no doors, which begs the-"

"Um, actually, there's one right over here." I retorted.

"That's because... wait- there is?"

"Yeeaah..."

"Um, well, this is awkward. You'd think that after 38 years, someone would have pointed that out."

"Especially considering that you resorted to suicide before you found out." I added.

"Yeah, seriously... bummer man." The Ghost Host sighed.

As I opened the door and stepped out -mortality intact- I turned to Mickey, "That was a real mood killer."

Still, we hopped aboard our Doom Buggies, and slowly descended into the dark depths of the landmark attraction. We lazily brushed by the endless hallway, self-playing organ, Madame Leota, and the psychotic bride. As we "fell" out of the attic and into the graveyard, I noticed the ghosts, spooks, and zombies looked a tad more... lifelike.

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Mistress 9: What's the pun count now?

GLaDOS: IT'S OVER 9000!!

Mistress 9: WHAT?! OVER 9000?!

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And in actuality, they were walking straight twoards us!

"First Dinosaurs, then giant squids, ... now zombies?!" I groaned, "This can't possibly get any worse!"

CUTCSHKK!!

But in Murphy's Law, it did; Mickey and I dived to the opposite ends of the Doom Buggy as something hacked it's way down the middle of the vehicle. It was the deranged bride from the attic! She, like the dinosaur in Animal Kingdom, was no longer an animatronic, but a homicidal weapon bearing woman. (Well it's like they say; Hell hath no fury...) The expressionless female took another swing, and Mickey and I rolled out of the buggy with perfect timing.

Luckily, I rolled into some bushes (brambles, but given the situation, I couldn't be picky) and was out of sight of the mindless horde of zombies. Boy, and to think of how much I had hated this ride before.

It was then I heard a whezzy, throaty voice begin to snicker, "Look sire! There they go! We will rule ove- I-I mean, YOU'll rule sire! It was all you!" I recognized the voice, but I couldn't place where.

"Excellent.." hissed a deeper voice, I cautiously peeked from behind a tombstone (Here lies Brother Fred; A great big rock fell on his head) and I saw him: The Horned King.

Now, for those of you unfamiliar with the Horned King, here's the scoop: he's from an obscure 1985 classic animated movie called "The Black Cauldron". It was the first animated Disney feature film to get a PG rating, and feature one scary villain. This towering ghoul was dressed in a maroon robe, with only his giant gaunt skeletal hands and face showing. As his name suggested, he had two gnarled horns atop his head. A fashion king, he was not, but he was practically Maleficent's equal. In the movie, he set out to find a -big shock- black cauldron that held the power to resurrect an army of undead soldiers.. hey... wait a minute!

"It's the Horned King!" Mickey gasped as he rolled to my side, "He's from-"

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Bellatrix: Don't bother, Kyle already explained the whole thing to the readers

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"Oh, okay...," Mickey nodded, "But aside from that, we need to deactivate the cauldron!"

I nodded, "A living soul must go into the cauldron, but never escape alive... right?"

"Maybe there's some other way," Mickey rose to his feet and started towards the cloaked villain, "lets just get that cauldron away from him!"

Well, considering how our luck was going so far, that was good enough for me!

I carefully crept out of my hiding place admist a dense cloud of green fog. I trudged over to the Horned King, where he and his giddy diminutive ogre sidekick Creeper reveled in their new plot. The immense cauldron bubbled, churned, and rumbled at their feet.

In my best heroic pose I could, with Mickey by my side, I called out, "All right! I'm going to end your plan now Horned King!"

Creeper turned and pointed accusingly at me, "There he is, sire! I won't let them get away!" he cheered while hopping up and down.

"Neither of them won't" the villain growled, "The cauldron is mine, and my army is undefeatable!" and before I could act, two hulking barbarians grabbed and held out hands behind our backs. This was going to be the end, I knew it, the bride slowly shambled closer to us; raising her knife for the deciding strike, when I heard something speak at my feet.

"All this cauldron messing about is giving me a migraine.." I looked down and found Madame Leota within her crystal ball!

"Any last words?" the King demanded at us.

I beamed, "Yeah!" I answered, "You play soccer?" While my question distracted the lot, I sharply punted Leota (And stubbed my toe in the process) up and into the cauldron. Before she vanished into the big kettle, I heard her yell back, "OW YOU SON OF A-"

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Archnemon: le gasp

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Just then a new fiery explosion erupted, and the spell kicked in.

First, the brutes holding us weakened their grip, and then collapsed into a heap of bones and armor. The bride stopped her knife only inches away from my face before she, too, became only a haunting spirit. From thereon out, every single ghost, zombie, and ghould became their old audio-animatronic self once again. For the first time in the past fifteen minutes or so, my heart remembered it was supposed to be beating.

Oddly enough, unlike the movie, the Horned King didn't get sucked into the vortex-like cauldron. He and Creeper only stood and gaped in shock. "My.. my minions..." the king sputtered, "my part of the plan! It's ruined!"

Mickey smirked, "And so are you, Horned King!" he said triumphantly. Knowing what that meant, I whipped out the lamp.

"Get ready guys," I called to the baddies inside, "We're expecting company!"

"Okay!" I heard Iago squawk, "But I'm claimin' the top bunk!"

While Creeper scampered away as fast as he could, little could save the Horned King as he was sucked inside the prison just like the others before him; his defeat was sealed.

"Well, well," We heard Ursula greet in her usual sassy manner, "It appears you were no more successful than any of us. Your idea for the plan was better in theory than in practice."

"What did that blasted piece of scra-" Jafar bursted out violently, but was cut off as..

"Shut up!" The Horned King seemed hastened, almost as to cut Jafar off, "Mark my words: You'll get your due Mickey Mouse! Just you wait and see!"

I laughed heartily, "Awww.. They're so CUTE when they're angry!" I chortled.

"And by the way David Beckham,' I heard a voice at my ankle once again, "Mind going a little easier on the game-winning goal next time?"

I looked down to see Madame Leota, and she didn't look to happy. "Wait!" Mickey was very confused, "I thought you couldn't! You... you fell in!"

She smiled sweetly despite her demeanor, "Well, I'm already dead to begin with Mickey, but I'm still a living soul... I pretty much just died again."

"Ohhh... noooooo!"

Turning to see Creeper up in a nearby tree, I wondered if he was considered a threat. I saw him moan in pity, "No, no! NO! Master! He... He's gone!" Then he brightened up; his eyes widening, His sobs then turned to gales of laughter. "He's gone! Ah hahaha! Horay! Hahahaha!" and I decided that he should remain outside of the lamp. Besides, he was kinda cool in his own little way.

"Come on," Mickey said at last as he pat me on the back. "Lets go, no telling what might be waiting for us at MGM." True enough. But I was speculating. Willy the Giant? Madame Mim? Gaston? Kaa? Scar? Lady Tremaine? None of them seemed like a viable option, but it wasn't like I saw the Horned King coming either.

As Mickey and I reached Disney MGM Studios, I actually took time to write a list of possible suspects. "Thanks Kyle," Mickey replied kindly, "But I don't think Bugs Bunny counts as a Disney Villain."

"You never know," I said conclusively, "You just can't be too careful these days."

How right I was...

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"So they know about it?" Marluxa phoned me as I helped Rapier into a nook on Tom Sawyer Island.

"Yeah, that's why they sent the Horned King to collect as many minions as possib- hey!" I fought with Rapier as I tried to bandage their bruised limbs, "Mind not squirming?"

"Shut it Hunter..." Rapier grabbed the phone from me while I tended to the other cuts and scrapes, "I was inside long enough to know; they're trying to get quantitative forces against us, somehow they know about him..."

"I see..." I heard Marluxia's usually calm voice falter, "do they know where he's located?"

"The idiots don't know, he's actually right under all of our noses come to think of it." Rapier chuckled

"True, true," Marluxa answered back, "But Xemnas is still trying to find a way to able to control him... you know what happened in his movie..."

"Don't remind me," I felt Rapier's hands clench as I tended to an arm cut, "but it was because the people that were in charge were stupid, and we're not."

"I beg to differ," I mumbled under my breath.

"Did you say something Hunter?"

"No.. nothing at all..."


	10. Battle atop the Tower

As Mickey and I entered the park, we couldn't shake off a strange feeling. Mickey managed to sum it up in the choppiest sentance ever, "Look! It's Tigger over there! and there! ...and there... and there?" Forget 'The Only One', four Tiggers, two Pumbaas, five Snow Whites, the Beast, two Kuzcos, and three Pooh Bears wandered around Hollywood Boulevard. Our suspicions of the plot were now looking to be true... poor Katherine!

"Well, lets head over to the Tower of Terror." I said.

Mickey stopped me,"What makes you sure about that?"

I turned around, "There are three rides in Disney World I can't stand," I said stiffly, "DINOSAUR being one, and the Haunted Mansion... The Third being..."

"Oh," Mickey replied, trying not to laugh, "Tower of Terror. Kinda pessimistic don'tcha think?"

"There is pessimism," I answered as we headed off, "and then there's Murphy's Law."

And there it stood, that 199 foot tall edifice, a grim monument of despair and horror. It was ready to transport us to an alternete dimension, where no would could hear us scream. Oh yeah, LOADS of fun.

In the elevator, Mickey and I were tense. Our vehicle rose slowly, gradually gaining altitude, and preparing to send us to the Twilight Zone. But forgetting the fact that the ride scared me so badly, I couldn't shake off a premonition that it was to be more... well... "final" than usual. Like we were really going to cross over into another universe. But the final deciding point was the conversation we heard just above the elevator car. "All right! Now, Kronk! Cut the wire!"

"Cut it?! Are you Kiddin' me? These are my craft scissors!

"I DON'T CARE!! Cut the rope and get rid of them NOW!!"

That did it for me. "Mickey! Lets get outta here!" I hollered. Just then, the doors of the top window opened, and without missing a beat we scampered out. Almost entirely without thinking, I pulled a leap, tumble, spider-crawl, and a 430 degree flip, all the way to the top of the tower, where I took a moment to catch my breath. Before I could contemplate what to do next, Mickey came to join me. "Who.. wha.. what was that?" he panted.

I pulled him up onto the roof, "I picked up a few things from Kim Possible" I answered nonchalantly, "Besides, what happened to the elevator?" That was when we heard a soft crash about 200 feet down below us. I shuddered, "Call it luck, or proof of a higher power," I wimphered. "I'm just glad we're both in one piece."

"Come on Kyle," Mickey urged, "Lets not loose focus after this." He led me down the side of the building again, back to the opening doors. We peering inside, and much to our amusement, we saw Yzma and Kronk clinging to the snapped elevator cable for dear life.

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Bellatrix: Now THAT'S funny.

Archnemon: I'm just happy it's not me in a gag for once.

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Mickey smirked, "Looks like the tricksters became the tricked."

"Yeah," I snorted, "Dropping us into the Twilight Zone? Couldn't you think of something a little better than that?"

"It was either this, or putting extract of llama into your cobb salad over at the Brown Derby," the old hag snapped, "Jafar, Ursula, and the Horned King already had dibs on the good parks."

I snickered, "Personally, I would have expected you at the Downtown Disney Marketplace; you're the materialistic one."

"I resent that."

"And what am I?" Kronk asked with a hint of resentment, "Chopped liver? ... with a cream of broccoli soup and sauteed onions?"

"Ack!" Yzma screamed and our attention was brought back to their predicament, "No! Go away you little hairball!" she was howling upwards. I turned up to find Katherine hastily gnawing on the rope above their heads. Either she was bored, or she was determined to send these two into the mysterious beyond.

"Well Yzma, the way I see it, you can either say bye-bye to reality, or we can call it a day in the lamp here." Oh, blackmail was so sweet!

Yzma growled crossly, "You drive a hard bargain, you little punk." she huffed as she was sucked into the prison.

As the cable got thinner, Kronk began to sweat, "Hey! Don't leave me hanging here! I don't want to go to the Twilight Zone thingy!" Well, obviously, I didn't want to put him into the lamp; he was too cool. Holding onto the side of the building, Mickey and I reached out and pulled Kronk over to us. From there, we proceeded to make our way down to the base of the tower..

"Uh, thanks buddy," Kronk thanked once we touched sweet ground, "But what am I gonna do now? I've never done much except be Yzma's sidekick.

I saw Mickey shrug, That was a good question, but then I had an idea, "I hear that after the Epcot mishap, they're overhauling the entire pavilion, I'm sure they wouldn't mind hiring an extra chef over at the Coral Reef."

Kronk squealed like a giddy schoolgirl, "Perfect! Thanks guys!" he laughed; wrapping us in a bone crushing hug. I was expecting a few ribs to crack, but then Kronks attention diverted to something in the distance. "Hey! That little blue guy! There he goes now!"

The three of us saw Stitch scurry away from the Tower of Terror, and over to the amphitheater; the place that Fantasmic! showed every night. Saying our goodbyes to Kronk, Mickey and I gave chase. Although we found ourselves somewhat out of steam after the long walk down the tower. We barely had enough strength left to walk the stretch of path to the ampitheater, but we made it.

In fact, we arrived at the bleachers, and we becamed dumbfounded. There, she stood, on the center stage before the giant cragg; Maleficent.

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"Absolute BS," I heard Rapier say as we walked into MGM before closing time, "Fantasmic! Is closed, I wanted to see it before returing back to the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular."

"Oh, is that where you work nowadays?" I shouldered my gun and took the battered psy-op, "I didn't know you were still employed by Disney."

"It's not easy," Rapier began walking over to the street that connected the main pathways to the Tower of Terror, "I get booed everytime I show up; It's not the best morallity booster."

"Is your face that ugly?" I said without thinking,"Uhh.. I mean, you obviously don't wear that blindfold while on the job right?"

"Sometimes..." Rapier held out a hand and "looked" up at the tower, "The park is getting close to closing, I think he'll be back soon."

"Who?" I was puzzled, Marluxia hadn't said anything about someone meeting us today.

"Xigbar, he headed into the Twilight Zone to pick something up."

"Xigbar? That surfing coot? Can we really rely on him for-"

I was cut off as the doors to the exit of the ride were thrown open, and a man in a black cloak game flying out at record speed. He stopped only feet away from us and landed softly on his feet. Despite his way of acting, he had a worn face; it was covered in scars, and he was even missing an eye. But I could tell that Xigbar was extremely elated.

"Any news from the other side?" Rapier seemed enthralled as well by whatever it was Xigbar had done.

"One Aperture Science SD card, delivered for the Superior," Xigbar proudly displayed a small computer chip to the both of us, "With this baby, we'll have all of Disney World in our hands in no time!"

Things, for once, were beginning to look good.


	11. A Plan is Told

Cloaked in her traditional black and purple garment, her raven Diablo resting on her shoulder. The epitome of all that was evil and cruel. She appeared to mulling over something, gently stroking the orb perched upon her staff; quietly in thought.

"Well," I whispered, "Can't say that I'm surprised.

"Me neither." Mickey replied. We marched down the aisle to the front row to get as close as possible to the evil fairy. Chances are this wouldn't be pretty. With Maleficent, anything could happen.

Before we could speak, she broke the silence. "Well, well, well," she chuckled lightly, "I was wondering when you two would get here."

I swallowed hard, "Jig's up Maleficent! Your armies and comrades have fallen! It's all over!

She finally slowly turned to face Mickey and I. Her soft laugh rose a bit, and she spoke once again, "Armies? Comrades? You think I had that much faith in them? No, those morons were mere pawns and back up in my scheme. If you think you have been challenged, you are sadly disillusioned."

I pulled out the lamp, "Hey guys, you gettin' all of this?" I asked into the spout.

"We figured as much," I heard Yzma snap, "Maleficent thinks she's SOO-OOO perfect."

"Enough!" she hissed,"You've interfered with my plan for too long!"

"Oh yeah," I snickered, "About that..."

"Your plan, turning cast members into Disney characters?" Mickey called out.

Maleficent smirked knowingly, "You make it sound so simple," she added, "But what more can I expect from you Mickey Mouse?"

"Ohh!" I growled, "That was a serious burn! You'll be sorry you ever said that lady!"

"SILENCE! This does not concern you, you little twerp!"

Oh yeah, that got me a little hot under the collar, "Listen you bitch! My best friend has been turned into a demented mutant trog because of you! And I'm not going to leave until I get more answers!"

Maleficent straightened up, her smile shrinking, ""Friend" you say? I'm terribly sorry, I didn't know... I should have turned her into a Heartless."

This from the evil fairy whose diabolical plan was having an entranced princess commit suicide by pricking her finger. But this was just low beyond all description. "Just what are you trying to prove, you old hag!?" I roared, infuriated, "Right now, I just feel like kicking your ass!"

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Bellatrix: We apologize for the language, but Kyle was pissed.

GLaDOS: Was it possible he was channeling Luiz Prower?

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Mickey grabbed my arm and held me back.

"Prove?" Maleficent asked, "What am I trying to prove you ask? Simple: I am sick and tired of us villains being used and abused for your gain. Since these blasted parks opened, we have been nothing but toys! Continually, on and on, the "good triumphs evil" battles, they nauseate me. It is time that we get our dues. I plan to open the fifth gate, Shadow Kingdom! A Kingdom only for the villains! Once it opens, we'll prove to everyone just how strong and powerful we are! Not only will there be no Cast Members to operate the first four gates, we will also preform nightly shows, every night, in which a hero is defeated! Night after night! Victory for evil! For revenge!"

Finally! I was worrying that we'd never get her to monologue, but then she said something that caught me off guard.

"Not to mention the Organization XIII..." Maleficent added, "They think their plan against us is fool proof, but I'd like to see them try."

"Organization XIII?" I asked out loud, "What do they have to do with any of this?"

"Well," Maleficent was ready with an answer, "How does that saying go? I could tell you but..." it was clear she was feigning confusion.

"... 'but I'd have to kill you?" I whimpered.

She smiled her cruel smile, allowing a green fireball to accumulate within the top of her staff, "Oh, yes... that's right," she laughed as she hurled the fireball in our direction. We cowered; this was the end of it all.

But a shadow fell on us right when the fireball should have struck. Before us stood a tall man in a pointed hat; his hand alone has stopped the projectile. From behind our rescuer, we saw Maleficent cringe. "You!" she hissed like a cornered cat, "They said you were gone for good!" she turned to us and growled, "We'll settle this later!" and with that, she vanished within a pillar of green flame.

My knees turned to jelly as I realized the danger had passed. "Whew!" I breathed, "Thanks Merlin." That was when the man turned, he was a tall bearded wizard with a pointed hat all right, but it was not Merlin... it was Yen Sid!

The words in my throat formed a knot. Mickey was no less speechless. There were few men outside Walt Disney respected and feared so much. I remember how he stared at us with those piercing eyes and raised an eyebrow. I suddenly felt tempted to start carrying buckets of water just to stay out of his way.

"Muh-Master Yen Sid," Mickey choked, "I-I... I..." the wizard held out a hand to silence the mouse.

"There is no time, nor need, for excuses, Mickey;" The great wizard boomed in a throaty smooth voice, "Great evil is at hand here, and I am quite impressed with how you two have handled it thus far."

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Archnemon: OO

Mistress 9: He talks oo

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"The war rages on," he continued solemnly, "And it is my duty to asisst you in any way I can." He neatly removed his hat and handed it down to a greatly awed Mickey. "You have come a long way since commanding brooms to do your chores." Mickey slowly took the hat; unsure whether or not to laugh.

Then he turned to me. I swear, once those great eyes cast upon me; I was chilled with awe. "Kyle.." he addressed softly.

"Suh-sir?"

"To you, I bestow the post powerful gift of all. Every wise warrior that ever lived knows full well that the greatest weapon is not the sword he carries, the skill he harnesses, nor the strategy he prepares," he cast his long bony hand over his chest, and in his other hand appeared a white sphere about the size of a softball. It glowed radiantly. "That weapon is inside this orb," he said nobly, "Use it wisely, for when the time comes, you will know when."

"Uhh.. thanks." I muttered as I received the gift. It was cool, but I still would've preferred those other three things. At least those didn't come with riddles.

That was when I felt a tug on my pant leg. I looked down to find Katherine gazing up at me with those big black eyes... she seemed curious. It was almost as if having Maleficent gone had stopped her destructive nature. "What are we going to do about Katherine?" I asked Yen Sid.

He raised an eyebrow, and turned to the blue trog. To my surprise, he cracked a small warm smile, and said that old but true cliche. "A friend in need is a friend indeed." He knelt down to her level, and beckoned her to come closer. She gingerly stepped forward, and Yen Sid placed his great hand upon her head, and began to gently massage it. Katherine closed her eyes, and it appeared she was going to sleep. After a moment of this, Yen Sid removed his hand and Kat slumped down.

"Is she okay?" I asked.

He nodded, "Although she will remain in this current body, she is still your friend. Now, we must go."

"Evil is about to strike and time is running out?" I asked. And this whole mess about the Organization XIII, weren't they stationed in Tokyo Disney?

"No, Hyacinth and Ben Ali need the stage."

No sooner he spoke these words, a troop of dancers, ostriches, hippos, elephants, and alligators bounded out onto the stage. Ben Ali clapped his claws and spoke out in a distinctive lisp. "Okay girls! We need to get moving! Com on, we only have a few hours, so lets go ladies!"

It was then I noticed Katherine stirring.

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"Seemed talk dark and green knew about us." Xigbar peered through the foliage around the stadium, "I wonder how Maleficent knew about us..."

"I blame Rapier's stunt over at the Magic Kingdom." I endured an elbow to the chest from my partner.

"I had nothing to do with it!" Rapier snapped, "They were already making minions beforehand remember? Or does your older than dirt brain not remember that?"

"Ladies!" Xigbar wagged a finger at us both, "Take a chill pill will you? The way how Mickey and Kyle are so wrapped up with the Disney Villains, they aren't paying any attention to us. Even if they become suspicious of the Organization, not a single person knows about either you or Hunter's deal in this whole plot. Besides, given the time, I say we get this card installed," he held the Aperture Science card out and let it bounce in his hand, "Once we get this thing running, well, I said it before, even Maleficent will be hard pressed to deal with us."

This was true.

If the plan worked...

We would fear nothing...

"Is it time to finally call it a day in Walt Disney World?" I asked.

"Seems that way," Xigbar said with a tone of relief, "I'll contact Marluxia as soon as possible. Hunter, you take your post back in the German Pavilion in Epcot, Rapier, head back to the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, we'll all lay low until Xemnas gives the final word, got it?"

"Got it." we both replied. The day of Hell we both experienced was almost over. But then Xigbar said something that even made my undead skin crawl.

"Operation A113, is now underway."


	12. Remembrance

Ugh, geez, how long was I out? Slowly, my memories began to come back to me... and I constantly asked myself, 'Did I do that?' It wasn't until I looked at my claws to really realize just what was going on. To be honest, I already remembered everything, but as Stitch's mind took over, I was unwittingly put on the backseat. I had witnessed everything, and, in fact, many times, I tried to stop Stitch, but each time I was unsuccessful. It was almost like viewing someone else's life through a television screen.

I looked up at Kyle and Mickey, standing there... "Is everything okay?" I asked, and startlingly, in Stitch's raspy voice.

"Kat? Is that you?" Kyle asked, coming down to my level.

I decided to humor him, "Yay!" I clapped my four hands together, "Rip Van Winkle!"

Well, it was enough. Kyle grabbed me into such a tight hug I thought I was going to burst. He danced and spun around and around, and nearly suffocated me in the process. I was so grateful when he finally let go.

"Lets go get Maleficent!" Mickey cheered loudly.

"Right... -" Kyle added, right before his knees decided to buckle and he toppled over.

At first, Mickey panicked, "Gosh! Are you alright?"

"He's fine," I answered quickly, "..... right?"

"I just realized I'm very much exhausted from traveling to all four parks and defeating four of Disney's biggest heavies," Kyle mumbled, "I say we take a day or two to recuperate; Maleficent doesn't seem like she'll be coming after us anytime soon."

Mickey nodded, "Good idea, I'm tired of this trek too, and I think Katherine needs her rest too."

This was true, now that I was myself again, my normal 19-year old energy returned, and I no longer was forced to do anything with Stitch's sugar-buzzed caffeine-rush-like activity.

"But.. what about Maleficent?" Kyle asked.

"She's going to be in Epcot, at World Showcase Lagoon in two days," I said, recalling what she herself told me a few days ago, "something about there being a fifth gate there."

"Fifth gate?" Kyle asked, "Shadow Kingdom? Why would it be in Epcot?"

"I'm not sure myself, but that's what she said." Why exactly Epcot, even I didn't know.

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Mistress 9: Insert long awkward silence here

Bellatrix: What happened to the crickets chirping?

Archnemon: ......

Bellatrix: ..... you ate them didn't you?

Archnemon: ...... yes.....

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"Alrighty," Kyle said at last," Lets go home, Kat. You can stay at my place, just as long as you don't eat my sneakers."

Well golly.....

Well, Kyle and I were granted the next few days off, thanks to Mickey (They were right; getting ahead at Disney DOES require having connections!) and we were grateful for it. We were refreshed and relaxed enough for the battle that was to transpire that Thursday.

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I was still very much sound asleep that morning. And Katherine apparently didn't want me to stay asleep. "Get up Kyle!" she cried into my ear, "Get up! We gotta get to Epcot before Maleficent!"

"Syndrome's got my lunch money..." I think I grumbled, part of the dream I was having.

"Kyle!" she shouted again, "Wake up!"

"Mmmmmwhat? Kat, I'm sure the line for Soarin' is going to be long no matter when we visit."

"No! We got to stop Maleficent today, remember!?"

"Right, right, I'm up, I'm up." I groaned, "Why am I up this early?"

Kat glared at me, "Maleficent is heading to the Shadow Kingdom! We gotta stop her!"

I yawned, "Can't we just take the Anti-monorail or something?" I grumbled.

So she bit my leg. "YOW!!!!" I howled, adrenaline going;jerking me awake, "Jeez Kat! Was that really necessary?"

"Apparently, yeah," she snapped, "Now, may we please leave?"

Well, that was that. We made our way back to Epcot, where Mickey met us at the dock of the Friendship Water Taxis. Instead of his usual trademark red shorts and yellow shoes, he donned Master Yen Sid's hat, and his familiar red robe. He anxiously tugged at his sleeves, "Gosh, this is getting kinda snug. I'm gonna have to get this thing refitted again."

"Lets go guys!" Kat said at last.

The captain navigated us out into the lagoon slowly but surely. All three of us were on a sharp-eyed look out for the damsel of darkness. It wasn't too long before Katherine spotted her on one of the islands. Unless you were really looking for her, Maleficent seemed near invisible amongst the trees. "Turn here!" Mickey urged the captain.

"Check it out!" I pointed, noticing a large portal appear in front of Maleficent.

"That must be the portal to the Fifth Gate!" Kat yelped, "We can't let her get away!"

I sighed as I leaned on the rail, "You have any idea how weird this sounds out of you?"

she turned to me confused, "What?"

"This is coming from the girl who is obsessed with Maleficent, now saying "Lets get her!" and "Lets stop her evil plan!"" I teased.

"Oh shut up."

Since the island had no dock or pier, we had to hop onto shore. First Mickey, then me, but Katherine slipped and fell into the water. Instinctively, I dove at her, and she bounded up onto my back; pushing me into the water. "Sorry Kyle," she apologized, "Keep forgetting I can't swim."

I spat out a mouth full of water, "And I keep forgetting how much fun it is to swim fully clothed." I growled sarcastically.

"The portal's closing!" Mickey cried. He jogged, Kat scampered, and I sloshed into the shrinking vortex. In fact, I actually tripped in.

I landed with a thud.

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GLaDOS: And I am -sure- there was a snap and crunch in there too.

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And I found myself on concrete, black concrete actually. It sure struck me as odd. As I lifted my head to see my friends, I saw that they were gaping in awe. I rose steadily, and turned around to see what caught their attention.

I wish I had hadn't.......


	13. The Shadow Kingdom

It was a bone chilling sight. We had landed in what was Magic Kingdom in a parallel universe; a grotesque, eerie version of Alice's wonderland that might have been seen in Tim Burton's eyes. Black, twisted buildings loomed over us; murky gray clouds blanketing the atmosphere. While we could see several classics like Splash, Space, and Big Thunder Mountain, it was neigh impossible not to feel intimidated. The welcoming fairy-tale Cinderella Castle up the road was replaced with Maleficent's foreboding citadel; seemingly daring us to come closer. The park was completely vacant, save for us three. A nearby signpost directed us to the parks lands, including "Alameda Slim's Frontierland", "The Queen of Heart's Fantasyland", and "Zurg's Tomorrowland." This was just way too creepy for words.

"There she is!" Mickey called out. Sure enough, the evil fairy was ascending the path to her castle. We knew we had to do something and quick, but what? Maybe I should use my glowy thing now? But as Mickey shot forward, I decided not quite yet.

She must have heard us coming. We were only about 100 feet away when she whirled around and glared at us accusingly. "You!" She hissed, "You don't know when to give up, do you?"

"The only 'giving up' I do is smoking!" I yelled back.

Katherine tugged on my sleeve, "Kyle, you don't even smoke!"

In my George Banks impression, I answered, "Madam, that is entirely beside the point!"

"Quiet, you little shenanigans!" Maleficent roared, "You think you can defeat me? The Mistress of all evil!" And, yes, she began to morph into her signature dragon form. She stood there for a moment after her explosive transformation, as if to let the sight of her strike terror into our hearts; for the dramatic effect or something. We were scared of course, I won't lie, but we knew this was going to happen. I mean, come on, it's Maleficent!

I whipped out the lamp, but the giant dragon spat fire down upon me. Naturally, I jumped, dropped the lamp, and ran away while screaming. I saw Kat run behind the dragon, and picked her up by the tail in an attempt to lift her up. Apparenlty she still had Stitch's powers. Still, even though you could tell she had to fight a little; Maleficent's reply to this attack was to simply lift her tail and flicked Katherine away like a rubber band.

She turned her attention to Mickey, and peppered the ground with many blasts of fire around him. Mickey responded by zapping magic back, and neutralizing the blasts on the spot. With a mighty snort, she blew a ring of fire around Mickey, stranding him.

"Pathetic!" she laughed haughtily, "You thought that you could defeat me? You're all doomed!"

Well, it sure looked like it.

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I crawled out of the glass shop, aching, but still strong. I jumped out in time to hear her gloat over Mickey and Kyle, and I knew I had to act quickly. Prince Phillip's sword and Rip Van Winkle's gun were nowhere to be found... oh! The lamp! What the hell had Kyle done with it?

A quick scan and I quickly found it. It was underneath the giant dragon's stomach. I knew I had one shot at this, and I obviously had to get it right the first time. With Maleficent occupied with Kyle and Mickey, I made a break for the weapon.

Picking up the pace, I aimed straight for the lamp. The ground clearance was only about a foot, but I was able to squeeze through. With careful percision, I sprang at the lamp, and tackled it. My ears and antenna lowered to avoid contact, but my spines didn't get the memo. You know those three spines Stitch as 626 has on his back; they brushed the dragon's scaly underside. Nonetheless, this alerted her to my presence and she began to stomp wildly; trying to crush me. I rolled and dodged in a fit of terror, but the inevitable happened, a claw came down right on top of me. I held up the lamp as a pathetic shield, but the blow never came! The claw and foreleg immediately became entrapped within the lamp's spout!

"Release me at once you little toad!" she screeched in my face. In vain attemped, she struggled to wrench her arm out, but the harder she fought, the quicker the vortext sucked her in. Within moments, only the dragon's head was left. "The battle for light and darkness never ends!" she spat, "you think you've won? You're wrong!"

And that was the last we saw of her. But I was afraid I'd never forgive myself for imprisoning my favorite Disney character.

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Alright! Kat did it! And not a moment too soon! As I clipped the lamp to my belt, Mickey rushed over to Kat to congratulate her on defeating the big boss once and for all.

"Well, well, well! If it ain't Mickey's Dream Squad!" came a familiar sarcastic voice. We turned to see yet another Disney heavy... Hades! "Not bad, not bad at all," he continued, "Major props."

Katherine pointed accusingly with two of her four hands, "Back off Hades! Unless you want to join your friends!"

"Whoa-oa!" the Lord of the dead chortled, "Cool the jets there blue boy, I'm not part of this whole scheme thing."

Mickey raised an eyebrow, "Oh, you're not are you?"

"Hey, C'mon, turning cast members into characters? Y'know, all the other villains were in on this whole 'Shadow Kingdom' plot, but hey, I just didn't buy it."

I scowled, "Okay,... if you're not here to more or less crispy critter us, then why are you here? and I mean, here talking to us, and here in the Shadow Kingdom?"

Hades grinned; ready with an answer, "Just a couple of business transactions, y'know, the usual gig. And, as incredible as it might sound, I'm actually here to warn you."

"Warn, huh?" I chuckled, "Doesn't sound like your style..."

Hades fire flicked to a red hue, "Listen, ya little yutz, I told you I didn't buy Maleficent's plot. THAT wasn't my style. My boss, unfortunately, did."

Katherine became confused, "Mickey is right here." she stated.

Hades sighed; obviously frustrated, "Not that boss, Stitches. I'm talking about Chernabog."

The three of us got chills up our backs. "Ch-Chernabog?" Mickey stammered.

"I mean, yeah, can you believe it? Not only did he think it was a good plan, he also thought it was a perfect answer to the plan that Organization XIII had uptheir sleeves. Plus when Chernabog saw you defeat Maleficent, he said he'd come after you three personally."

"Bring it on!" Kat growled, "We can take him, right guys?!"

Mickey and I stiffly nodded. Again with the mentioning of Organization XIII, what was that group up to? They must have had their plot planned to the very last detail; we hadn't seen anyone from their fraction the entire time we were dealing with the Disney villains.

"Quite the gung-ho one ain't ya?" Hades mused, "He'll show up soon enough. In the meantime, relax. Enjoy the scenery. Have fun. Whaddaya say?"

"What's the catch?" Kat demanded.

"Oy, kids today," the God groaned, "Listen, this isn't Georgia. I'm not challenging you to a fiddling match. There's no deal here. No strings. No catch. No hitch."

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Archnemon: No vaccines.

Mistress 9: No hearts.

Bellatrix: No muggles.

GLaDOS: No cake.

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"Whatever," I shorted, "Well, nonetheless, we'll be ready."

"Fine, dandy, perfect," he huffed, "Just remember, you're not in Kansas anymore." And with that, he vanished in a whoosh of blue flames.


	14. Chernabog

For a moment or so, we waited anxiously, not entirely sure what would happen. Just as a steady rain began to pour, we headed inside. We ducked into the Emporium, where we found an appallingly sickening array of toys.

"What's this?" I asked, poking a toy duck full of teeth and riddled with bloody bullet holes. That was when it sprang to life and snapped at me, quacking viciously.

Naturally, I shrieked; backing into a display of robotic-dragon toys... with real flame thrower action!

"YOWWWWWWW!!!!!" I howled, rushing back to my friends.

"What did you do?" Kat asked unamused.

"Now I know how Sid felt at the end of Toy Story!" I whimpered. That's when I got pelted in the back of the head with a small soft yellow ball. I spun around to see a toy Zurg laughing, "Destroy Buzz Lightyear!"

"Lets go," Mickey said hastily, "We need to keep an eye out for Chernabog." I was glad to leave. Right before we left, I arrogantly stuck my tongue out at the twisted toy store, only to get rewarded by another one of Zurg's evil Nerf balls to the nose.

We maneuvered by the Crystal Palace, where we could meet and greet a hallucinogenic display of Winnie the Pooh's foes, the Heffalumps and Woozles. But Adventureland was no more inviting. As we stepped into the African Jungle, we felt extremely intimidated by an unknown force. It was made obvious as to what it was as a gunshot rang out and the three of us hit the dirt rather quickly, and we found Clayton towering over us.

"Terribly sorry, lads," he sneered unapologetically, "There is a king's ransom on Sabor's pelt, and I know he's here somewhere." and with that he marched off into the darkening depths.

Even before we reached the Magic Carpets of Jafar, I made the decisive cut through the underpass to Frontierland; seeing a view of Injun Joe's island across the river.

"What's that noise?" Kat growled and hissed as she wrenched her ears,

"If I didn't know any better," I grumbled,"I'd say that's Alameda Slim's yodeling on the ambiance. God, that's pathetic," Mickey seemed to agree; he yanked his hat over his ears.

We progressed to Liberty Square, only to find the Haunted Mansion was now much bigger, creepier, and horrifying than ever before.

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Archemon: And if you remember a few chapters ago, that's pretty hard to imagine.

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Mickey read the sign, "9,999,999 unhappy haunts await you inside," he read out loud, "They're dying to meet you. See your worst fears come alive!"

"Well, since you put it that way, the original doesn't sound bad at all." I digressed.

"Oh how bad could it be?" Kat sighed as she waltzed in. She wasn't gone for a full minute when she came running back out in sheer terror.

"What?!" I yelped as I tried to pry her off my leg, "What is it?!"

"R-r-really really d-d-deep pool!"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, come on Kat!"

"And the whole cast of Hellsing! Having a pool party! Listening to the songs from High School Musical!"

I lifted my head, "Damn, that's just not cool."

She clung tighter to my leg. "Take me away! I promise I'll never take you on the Haunted Mansion ever again!" I quickly hobbled away; Katherine still stuck firmly to my leg.

Even more anxious, I started a conversation with Mickey as we headed into Fantasyland. "Hey, Mickey, are you holding up okay?"

"Yeah... but this place gives me the creeps..."

No kidding. Ursula's Grotto? Captain Hook's flight? Dumbo's Flying Pink Elephants? The Queen of Heart's Mad Guillo-tine Party? Pete's Phillarmagic? Lady Tremaine's Onyx Carrousel? The Many Adventure's of Heffalumps and Woozles?

"At least 'It's a Small World is still the same" I said as I pointed to the sign. It was odd that this ride was unchanged.

"Maybe they thought the song was scary enough." Kat suggested, clearly joking. So we laughed and boarded.

But little did we know that what they actually DID change was the length of the ride to five hours. no sooner we found this out, all three of us threaded water running out of there.

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Hunter: Damn, and I thought that our plot was evil.

Rapier: No kidding, this makes our plan look like nothing.

Archnemon: How'd you guys get in here?

Mistress 9: Yeah, what gives you the right to break into the fourth wall?

Hunter: .......

Rapier: ........

Bellatrix: *takes out wand* I say we have ourselves a little German and Russian barbecue, any takers?

GLaDOS: I say we bake them into cakes.

Hunter: ..... FLEE

Rapier: ....... FLEE!! *waves sword above head* WITH MIND BULLETS!!!

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By now my nerves were shot. "I can't take it anymore!" I cried, "Possessed toys! High School Musical! Redundant Music!? I'm gonna go insane!"

"I knew we couldn't trust Hades." Kat growled, "This place is playing mind games with us."

"What can we do?"

"Not much," Mickey said regretfully, "Not until Chernabog shows up anyway....."

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Hours passed. There was no sign of Chernabog, nor the portal that lead back into the real world. Worse yet, each hour that went by only increased our paranoia. Kyle jumped at every sound and shadow, even if it was himself. It was a sorry sight, but it was understandable. There was no way to truly guess what would happen next.

Thus, we humored our anxious energy by staking a spot in the central hub and pacing in the area; but it did little to calm any of us. More ever, we kept a sharp look out for Chernabog, but the gargoyle never reared his ugly head; figureatively and literally.

As night fell, and even more darkness shrouded the land, we were all mentally exhausted. It had been almost a whole day, and Chernabog never showed up.

"You guys sleep," I offered, "I'll keep watch," Without complaining, Mickey and Kyle both curled up in a safe corner, and went out in no time flat. I remember just how loud Kyle was snoring that night. I was still too preoccupied with this whole thing, the whole evil plot that the villains were up to. To think that it all started with excessive trips on one ride. Now, here I was, consciously aware of myself; but no better off. I was still Stitch. I solemnly looked at my four claws, and it hit me just how much I missed my old self. you'd be surprised just how much you can miss something when it's gone. Sure, I could climb walls, lift heavy things, and my senses were so much more heightened than that of a normal human, but none of it meant anything.

But now it was payback time. As Chernabog and Maleficent had stolen by pride, I was to do the same. Maleficent was already checked off, now it was only Chernabog that we'd have to take down. A lot was at stake here, and we were not going to go down easily. I then figured if I was to be at my best, I would also catch a few fleeting hours of sleep as well. Cautiously, I curled up next to Kyle and allowed myself to drift off; I was sure if something happened, my ears would pick it up.

Only to wake up amid a raging inferno! I found Kyle and Mickey were already awake. The fire licked higher, shooting at least twenty feet high. All three of us were crowded upon a tiny rock; frozen in panic, confusion, and dread.

That's when he appeared. Rising gradually from the flames below, he towered over us; terrifying more than anything the human imagination could ever come up with. His malicious and greedy white eyes cast down upon us in a sense of pure triumph. He spread his great arms and his gargantuan wings; certain of our approaching doom.

Then, a nasty assortment of inccubi and concubbi swept down like starved vultures at us. Mickey zapped, I snapped and clawed, and Kyle... well... Kyle swatted, but they rained down on us like torrents. It got to the point where the waves became so heavy it was futile fighting them all off. It sure seemed like we were done for...


	15. 3 Wishes and Hunter's Last Call

Even Katherine was loosing the battle! Mickey was faring no better. We had to turn this battle around and quick!

Wait... the ball! While trying to thwart off the demon's and spirits, I dug deep into my cargo pockets for that glowing sphere that Yen Sid had given me a few days ago. It was far from easy, but I managed to wrestle it from my pocket. No sooner had I done this a Harpy swooped down and knocked it clean out of my hand.

Without a better plan, I dropped to my knees and crawled over to the orb as quick as I could, which, I might add, was not quick at all. The bloodthirsty demons and monsters seems to fail to notice my absence as they continued their attacks on me. Despite the scratches and cuts I was getting from the talons of the monsters, I found myself in arm's reach of the orb.

As soon as I grabbed it, I noticed that Katherine and Mickey were both on their last bits of strength; they couldn't hold out much longer. Yen Sid had told me himself that I would know when would be the right time to use it, and I was certain it was now. With all my strength, and as the demons came after me once more, I smashed the orb on the ground as hard as I could.

For a moment or two, there was nothing but a brilliant white light. I do remember wishing that Yen Sid could have warned me about that ahead of time. nce it dimmed, I opened my eyes to quite a surprise. Chernabogs ghastly minions had vanished into thin air, and the fire that once raged around us was now extinguished. More ever, we had new company: Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Goofy had now joined us, all dressed in their blue and silver sparkling "Year of a Million Dreams" outfits. Mickey's robe and had gave way to his similar costume. Katherine now wore Stitch's one piece suit in the prologue of the movie that made him famous, yet it too was blue and silver. It took me awhile to realize that I was wearing a stylish new outfit in the same style as the others. Chernabog seemed to be greatly confused and troubled at this turn of events.

At first a look of surprise overcame Mickey, but it quickly dissolved as he smiled confidently and clenched his fists, "C'mon everyone!" he cheered, holding out his hands, "Time to show Chernabog the power of a wish!"

I was ready to go ballistic, a WISH? THAT was what all of this was about?!

Mickey and Minnie joined hands. Donald and Daisy did as well. Pluto set his paw in Mickey's palm, Goofy held onto Pluto and Donald. Daisy and Minnie held out their hands, anticipating Katherine and I to complete the circle. Clearly, she was having the same doubts I was. But a confident toothy grin came over her, with a simple "Lets do this." she and I joined the circle. Mickey closed his eyes, and the rest of us did the same.

Well, considering that I had my eyes closed, I can only tell you what when through my mind. A small voice in the back of my head was itching to smack me around, yelling at me 'What is wrong with you dude!? You're twenty years old! You're WISHING when you could be thrashing this guy?' This was the same voice of logic that soon realized that for the past week, I had watched my best friend become Stitch, been chased by a dinosaur, imagined segways with Figment, rode the monorail with Jack Sparrow, watch Brer Fox argue with himself, and above all, defeated five of the greatest Disney villains with the help of Mickey Mouse.

Do NOT tell me about the impossible.

I turned all my energy into the three wishes that were given to me, wishes that came from my heart. A moment or two passed, and I felt a little more than the radiance of hope within my heart. Then, through my eyelids, I noticed everything was becoming much brighter, Somewhat feeling like I was cheating, I opened my eyes and noticed that everyone except Katherine had done the same.

Remember the flat gray clouds that hid the sky above? We watched them part and dissolve, revealing a gorgeous sapphire sky beyond. The sun shone like a thousand zip-a-dee-doo-dah days; more beautiful than any words could ever describe. Chernabog however, did not fancy this. I almost expected him to curl into his wings and return to his slumber like he had done in Fantasia, but instead, he cowered and cringed; trying to block out the sun. He then faded into thin air, until he was no more.

"We.... we did it!" I breathed, almost entirely not believing it, "We.... we actually did it!"

"Look!" Donald called as he pointed across my viewpoint. Also hit hard by the sun was the very buildings around us. They buckled, folded, and dissolved into themselves; becoming large pools of water. The water began to flood around us to the size of a football field, while the we found ourselves on an Island next to a Japanese Pagoda. It didn't take long for me to realize that we were home.... in reality, in Epcot's World Showcase Lagoon, once again. Already, two of my wishes had been granted.

As for the third, I yanked my hand away from Kat when she started to twitch. I recoiled and watched Katherine become enveloped in a brilliant ray of light. When it dimmed, the figure of Stitch was no longer there, but Katherine was her old self; wearing a dress in the same blue and silver style that we had all adapted, and had a circlet with two blue and silver feathers in her hair. (Which I found somewhat amusing, dresses and Kat didn't usually go well together; this was an exception.) She was human once again!

"Kat... Kat!" I choked in shock. Once she came to terms with what was going on, she felt her face, her shoulders, and cheered ecstatically. We threw our arms around one another, tears flowing, laughter ringing out.

"It's over." I sniffed.

"I won't lie." she replied between joyous sobs, "I'll miss being able to walk on walls."

Minne smiled, "Never underestimate the power of a wish!" she laughed triumphantly.

"Thanks for all the help, you two." Mickey added, "Everything's back to normal thanks to you."

"But you know something...." Katherine thought out loud, "That whole Shadow Kingdom thing.. if done right, it'd be wicked awesome."

Daisy pulled out her cellphone, "I'm sure Mr. Iger would love to hear about this idea!"

Goofy grinned, "Gawrsh! We're gonna need Sora's help on this one!"

And that, my friends, is how Katherine and Stitch were one and the same.

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I watched them cheer from my usual spot in the German Pavilion; a roost in a second story building. For the whole week we had tracked Kyle and Mickey Mouse, and actually, I found it funny that despite their bumbling efforts, they had actually done us a huge favor. They had easily gotten rid of the few Disney characters that might have stood a chance against our full plan. I heard my cellphone ring, without thinking I answered.

"Hi Hunter, how is it going?"

"Fine.." it was Rapier," Looks like Kyle and company managed to defeat Chernabog, and eradicate the Shadow Kingdom that the Disney Villains had created, looks like everything is going to plan."

"Really now?" Rapier seemed happy for once, "That's great to know... hey... Hunter, the stunt show is starting soon, I was wondering if you'd like to come early, you know. The people who come early get to be in the show."

"Oh?" This was news to me, "Sure, MGM's a brisk walk for me here in Epcot, let me get my umbrella and I'll meet you there."

"Thanks Hunter, glad to know I have a friend in you." Rapier hung up their end of the phone. I sighed and leaned back in my chair; fingering my oversized bang. They often say, when one journey ends, another begins.

I stopped brooding, Operation A113 wouldn't take off until a good six months, it was time to enjoy the parks now....

Before everything changed for good.

And with that, I left my gun resting on the chair, picked up my umbrella and clock, and decided to call it a day in Epcot.

THE END


End file.
